-LRB- CNN -RRB- -- Health authorities indicated Friday there have been 361 cases of mumps in central Ohio , a significantly higher number than was reported just a few weeks ago .

Most of these cases -- 208 , to be specific -- have been linked to Ohio State University in Columbus , the city 's health department said .

The 361 total includes cases from Franklin , Delaware and Madison counties and was current as of 2:30 p.m. Friday . Some 139 of those diagnosed were students at Ohio State , while a number of others worked at or otherwise had a connection to the university .

As recently as March 21 , the same agency was reporting 63 mumps cases , of which 45 were tied to the university . The outbreak originated in February with a cluster of cases at Ohio State .

Mumps outbreak spread beyond Ohio State campus

Melanie Amato , an Ohio Department of Health spokeswoman , attributes the spike to many students heading home , where they could end up spreading mumps or at least be seen and diagnosed by doctors .

`` We do n't expect the numbers to go down soon , '' Amato said .

Eleven people have been treated at area hospitals for mumps , according to Columbus Public Health . But none were still in hospitals as of Friday , and no deaths have been linked to the disease , Amato said .

Those affected range in age between 4 months and 80 years old , with about 60 % being female .

The Ohio Department of Health reports the first symptoms tied to this outbreak arose on January 7 . Jose Rodriguez , a Columbus health department spokesman , has said that the earliest OSU case was on February 11 .

CNN Health Library : Learn more about mumps

There is a vaccine available for mumps , but it 's only 88 % effective , Amato points out .

She explains : `` A lot of these people who got mumps were vaccinated . ''

Mumps typically begins with a fever , headache , muscle aches , fatigue and loss of appetite , which is followed by the swelling of salivary glands , according to the CDC . It is `` a highly infectious disease '' that spreads the same way as a cold or flu does -- through respiratory droplets when someone coughs or sneezes .

There is no specific treatment for mumps , and patients usually recover after a week or two , but occasionally the disease can cause serious complications such as encephalitis , meningitis , deafness or inflammation of the breasts or ovaries in girls who have reached puberty , the CDC said .

Five days of isolation is required , `` and that can be complicated in a university setting , '' according to Rodriguez . Even more frightening -- one-third of cases have no symptoms , he said .

Mumps is n't the only infectious disease outbreak that Ohio is dealing with . Earlier this week , authorities reported 68 people had come down with measles in the state , part of what is already an 18-year high of measles cases in the United States .

2013 : East Coast mumps outbreak linked to nightclub

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Columbus health department : 361 cases of mumps in central Ohio

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Agency reported 63 mumps cases a few weeks ago

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`` A lot of these people who got mumps were vaccinated , '' state official says

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11 of those infected were treated in hospitals , but none are there now